Was It Fate?
by ClasslessToast
Summary: After returning to the real world, the only memory anyone has is a song that they all once loved. Will they remember the times they once shared, or will they part ways without saying goodbye? Picks up at the very end of episode 13. Popular shipments are included! Feel free to review or message me for any requests you may have!
1. Chapter 1

"Tell me, Mr. Otonashi, you have no memory except for the tune of a song?" An old man asked him as he lay horizontally against a couch.

"Yep, that's about it. All I can remember is waking up in a strange place with the song running through my head."

The man hummed for a moment, flipping the pages back behind the clipboard and reading some notes from another patient. The man's expression was unreadable as he stood and looked out the window and sat the clipboard down on a table. Otonashi stood, walking next to the man. The sound of cars seemed to leak through the window as the bright sun shinned into his eyes. The man sighed as he turned to face Otonashi. He sighed, looking back out the window and to the clear sky. "Please, take a seat. I have to ask you one more question before you go."

"Okay." Otonashi responded to the sudden request from the man. Sitting back down, he watched the man sit down as well.

"Mr. Otonashi," the man sighed, "do you believe in the afterlife? A time for you to finish what you had started, do you believe that sometimes God can be cruel to those who are unfortunate and give them a chance to enjoy one's youth?"

Unable to answer right away, he shrugged; "I guess."

"Good," the man said said immediately, "a group of people said the exact same thing you have today. One sang it a bit, but this is no random illness. Meet me here tomorrow for a group session. Maybe I can figure out what is wrong if you see someone you may know. That will be all for today. Have a wonderful day, Mr. Otonashi."

"Thanks...?"

Walking out of the elevator, Otonashi sighed as he thought over what the doctor had told him. Finding himself in front of a store named Shibuya 109, he heard a familiar tune being hummed by a girl behind him. Turning around he sees a girl with short silver hair and a hat on with headphones in her ears. As he slowly turns his body around, she looked down to her phone and began to walk away from him. Catching up to her, he taps her on her shoulder, causing her to turn around and eye him. Otonashi was speechless as her golden eyes met his. "Yes?" she asked. Caught in an argument with himself if he had ever seen her before, he finally managed to open his mouth to speak.

"That song you were humming just now, what is it called?"

"Oh," she sighed, "I don't really know myself. It was just in my memory when I awoke one day. The rest I can't remember."

"That stinks. Where are my manners; my name is Yuzuru Otonashi." He said, reaching his arm out in respect.

"Kanade Tachibana. Nice to meet you." She replied as she shook hands with him.

"That's a pretty name, Ms. Tachibana."

"Please," she smiled slightly, "call me Angel. It seems easy."

"Okay. Well, I must be going. Thank you for your time." Otonashi chuckled as he turned his body slightly, their gaze still locked. She nodded, waving slightly to him. Waving back, he began to walk home again. 'She seems so... Familiar...' he thought as he walked past the crowd of people.

Walking past a a baseball field, he studied the hospital next to it. 'What a weird place to put a hospital.' Walking on the sidewalk opposite the hospital, he noticed a blue-haired guy pushing a pink-haired girl in a wheelchair towards the baseball field. A smile appeared across Otonashi's face as he returned his view in front of him. As he continued, he walked past a small group of 3 guys, two listening to the music as the third (with a red bandanna on) danced to the rhythm. He shook his head as he continued past them. In a library, he saw two men reading books almost completely opposite eachother; one with glasses, the other in all black with a black cap on. Why did they all seem so familiar to Otonashi? He had never met any of them in his life, had he? When he finally returned home, he noticed his neighbor was watering her plants with a hose that was stretched almost at full length. The purple-haired girl took notice of him, waving to him.

"So how did the session go?" She asked as he passed by her fence to get to his home.

"Farley well. Did you get asked to return tomorrow as well for a group thing, Ms. Nakamura?"

"Yes. And please, call me Yuri."

"Understood. Well, I'll come knock when we need to start heading that way, okay Yuri?" He asked before he opened the door.

"Sounds good. See you then Otonashi."

He smiled, opening the door and shutting it behind him. He sat down on the couch, turning the television on and searching through the listings. He sighed as he turned the channel to the news. The anchor talked about how the worth of Yen may drop soon. After getting up and drinking from a jug of milk, he stopped when he heard the anchor change the subject;

"And now, the story on the recent phenomenon that has Japan locking it's doors at night; the recent sightings of 'The Stalker'. According to ancient legend, this supposed demon is said to hold the memories of teenagers and young adults who have passed on, but experienced the afterlife. Is this just a hoax, or do we have a real demon on our hands? Would you care to explain some of this to the viewers, Ms. Naomi?"

The view on the screen switched to a woman with brown hair and glasses with a picture of a dark figure with red eyes next to her head.

"Of course. This figure has been spotted many times throughout the island of Japan. As a result, everyone has been locking their doors and shutting their windows before they go to bed. It is said in legend that the demon only watches over teenagers, but this time, he is watching over people ranging from 1 year old to even 30 plus. This 'demon' is clearly a hoax. So rest assured, Japan, it is a fake."

Otonashi sighed as he sat down and changed the channel to a food show. With a bag of chips in his lap and a can of soda on the table. After a moment, he felt uneasy; as if he were being watched. Looking around his home, his gaze fell upon a shadowy figure with red eyes standing in Yuri's yard, staring horrifyingly deep into Otonashi's soul. Jumping to his feet, the figure only stood still.

"Wh- What is that thing?" He stuttered as he took a step backwards. Suddenly, an image of a group of people appeared in Otonashi's mind. For a split second, he recognized them all as the people he had walked past that he recognized somehow. From the split second he saw the image, they all seemed to be having fun. But a single girl's smile stood out most to him; "Angel?"

To be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Otonashi couldn't sleep that night after seeing the man standing in Yuri's yard. After the image of the group of people flashed in his mind, the man had disappeared without any trace. After investigating Yuri's yard and asking her if she had any guests, he turned up empty handed. Turning to his side he thought about the people his doctor was talking about;

"...a group of people said the exact same thing you have today."

'What did he mean by that? Even more, what did he mean by one _sang _it?'

The sun was high in the sky when Otonashi and Yuri arrived at the hospital. Walking down the hall from the elevator, they stopped in front of the doctor's door. Otonashi hesitated before he grabbed the door handle. He sighed before turning the handle, opening the door wide as he and Yuri stepped in. The chairs Otonashi and the doctor had been sitting in were gone and a group of metal folding chairs in the form of a circle. In the chair farthest from the window was the blue-haired guy with the pink-haired girl next to him, but in a wheel chair. To the right of them was a rather slim male with slit eyes. Next to him was a guy with a red bandanna on who was singing random lyrics. Opposite him, and two empty seats next to the girl in the wheel chair, was a younger male with dark-green hair. He wore the same outfit he had worn the day before. Next to him was the doctor who arranged the meeting. There were three empty seats next to the doctor, creating the circle. The doctor stood and greeted the two, motioning with his hand for them to sit down next to him. Doing so, the two sat down and exchanged a few glances with the others.

"Well," the doctor said after a brief moment of silence, "this isn't everyone, but let's begin, shall we?"

They all watched as the doctor stood and began to introduce himself;

"My name is Dr. Maou. I am 31 years old. I am the doctor of all who sits before you. I have come today to link together everyone here, hopefully. Now please, would you introduce yourself next Mr. Otonashi?"

"Of course." he replied, standing up as Dr. Maou sat back down. "Well, I'm Otonashi. I am 17 years old and I guess I'm just an average guy, trying to make a living. I have come today to try and learn more about the song that keeps playing through my head."

Sitting down awkwardly, he nodded to Yuri. Standing up she chuckled for a moment;

"My name is Yuri. I'm 17 and I'm just an average girl, trying to do the same as Otonashi."

Sitting down the group turned their eyes to the guy who had the bandanna on. Standing, he spun on his toes, striking a pose;

"TK is the name. Workin to be harder, better faster, stronger!" He sang, spinning, then sitting back down in his chair.

"I'm Matsushita. I'm a master of judo, and I'm here to learn what those two want to learn." Sitting back down, he turned his body to face the next person.

The girl opened her mouth to talk, but stopped, turning to the guy next to her. They shared a chuckle as she turned her head back to the crowd. "My name is Yui. And this is Hinata. You see, we... well, we..."

"We are in love." Hinata said, holding her hand softly. "We met when I accidentally hit a baseball and it went through her window. Ever since that day, I felt it was meant to be. It was as if my goal in life was to meet her and make her as happy as possible. She's perfect the way she is."

They smiled to one another as Hinata brushed back her hair from where it had fallen. He kissed her on the forehead before they turned to the last person in the group.

His arms crossed and his leg propped against his knee, a small smile covered his face as he studied Yui and Hinata. He shrugged his shoulders; "That's very touching." Standing, he seemed somewhat overconfident that he was the most important person there. Rising to his feet he looked off into the distance [for dramatic effect];

"I am Naoi, a genius, good looking, and above all, god-like! And like the rest of you I'm here to get this song out of my head. It's really annoying."

Sitting down smugly, the group looked at him in a confused manner. An awkward silence settled into the room as birds chirped in the distance and horns beeped from cars. Eventually, the group members began to talk to one another, discussing the town and the life they all woke up to. TK and Matsushita began to sing and dance mildly as they quoted lyrics from songs. Yuri started talking to Yui while Hinata started to talk to Otonashi. Old bonds seemed to form anew as Naoi marveled over Otonashi. Dr. Maou sat back happily in his chair as he watched everyone laugh and get along. Suddenly, a knocking came from the door, causing the room to fall silent. Walking to the door and opening it, Dr. Maou greeted the girl before him. Unable to see her face, Otonashi tried to peak around and see who it was. A familiar voice was apologizing to Dr. Maou for being so late. Finally, he assured her that it would be okay, and stepped to the side to let her in. Otonashi was surprised to see the same girl with short silver hair; "Oh, hey Angel."

Surprised to see him, Angel smiled, waving her hand to him. Dr. Maou shut the door softly behind her and rallied everyone's attention;

"This, everyone, is Kanade Tachibana."

"But please, call me Angel." She added, setting her bag down in an empty seat next to where Naoi was sitting.

'It's her, the girl who was humming that song...' Otonashi thought as Dr. Maou stood in the center of the circle of chairs.

"Now everyone, since I should go ahead and do this, I think it were to be only right for all of you to regain your memories. But first, I must warn you; this method is very, very secret and is not appropriate in any way. I have decided to ask the help of a... different force than human science. I have turned to religion. Now, as you are all aware, there has been reports of a demon lurking within the darkness to find someone. That someone is you, children. I have sacrificed a small amount to allow you all to have your memory back, but only for a short while. When you all go home tonight, you all will awaken with your memories back. The memories of your happiness, and of your sorrow. Your despair and your love. You all have a month unti-"

Noticing that the room was empty, he sighed. They all had left and were walking down the street together. Watching them walk from the window high above them, he shook his head; "Those kids are more trouble than they are worth."

"I understand you want me to continue with the deal?" A demonic disembodied voice echoed throughout the room.

"Yes, but do me a favor and visit that young couple, Yui and Hinata first. I feel they should be the first ones to receive their memory."

"I see," the voice echoed again, "but you do know I can help her with her issue, right? Though there will be hell to pay for it when I return to my home, I will gladly do so."

Turning around, Dr. Maou faced a shadowy figure in the corner of the room. "For a demon," Dr. Maou laughed, "you sure are nice."

"That's where many people get the _angel _in _fallen angel _wrong."


End file.
